Page:The land of enchantment (1907, Cassell).djvu/76

 “He was a splendid chap,” said Harry. “Please tell some more about him.”

“After these words the messenger displayed the gifts of Cambyses. The king wondered how the robe became purple, and when the mes- sengers explained the dyer’s art he said, ‘Truly the men are deceitful, and so are their garments.’”

“Ha! ha!” laughed Harry. “That was good. I wonder what he’d say now to all the imitation things!”

“Next,” went on Herodotus, “the messengers showed the necklace and armlets, and explained their use.

“‘We have fetters, too,’ said the king, ‘only ours are stronger.’

“Then they showed him the myrrh, and how it was used to anoint the limbs, and he repeated what he said of the robe. Lastly, he tasted the wine, and that of all the gifts he praised. ‘What do the Persians eat?’ he asked, ‘and how long do they live?’

“The messengers answered that the king ate bread, and described it. They said, moreover, that eighty years was the highest age.

“‘Then am I not astonished,’ said the king, ‘that ye die so soon, since ye eat dirt. I am sure ye would not live so long were it not for this same drink which ye have brought me.’

“But in this he was wrong, for drinking was a great vice of the Persians, and brought them much trouble.

“Then he told the Ichthyophagi that he and his people lived mostly to be a hundred and twenty years old—some even older. They ate boiled meat, and drank milk. And he showed them a fountain in which they bathed, and——

“But it grows late,” broke off Herodotus suddenly. “I had not noticed how the time fled. I must not linger here another moment. When shall I meet thee for the last time?”

“I can’t get off till next Saturday,” said Harry, dolefully, “for I’ve extra work, but I'll be longing to see——”

He looked round.

Herodotus had vanished.